Aryna Sabalenka hit with ‘immature’ criticism after she ‘capitulated’ at Australian Open

Ewan West 02 Feb 2026 5:30 PM

Aryna Sabalenka at a press conference

Wimbledon winner Pat Cash assessed that Aryna Sabalenka will have “a lot of things to think about” as he claimed she “capitulated” in the 2026 Australian Open final.

World No 1 Sabalenka, who was competing in her fourth consecutive Australian Open title match, lost 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 to fifth seed Elena Rybakina on Rod Laver Arena.

The 27-year-old Belarusian looked to be closing in on a third Australian Open crown when she led 3-0 in the third set, but she squandered her advantage as she was broken in each of her next two service games.

The four-time Grand Slam champion entered the final having won 11 straight matches and 22 successive sets in a red-hot start to the year that included her title run at the WTA 500 event in Brisbane.

Sabalenka now holds a 4-4 record in Grand Slams finals, and she has lost six of her last 10 finals across all levels of tournaments.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Cash struggled to explain Sabalenka’s collapse in the deciding set.

“Sabalenka was very effective on the first serve in the second set, barely dropping a point when she got the return in,” said the Australian, who is a former world No 4.

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“Rybakina did have some wobbles on her forehand in the semi-final, but other than that it was clean ball-striking.

“Sabalenka will go away with a lot of things to think about — she basically capitulated.”

Former British No 1 Annabel Croft argued Sabalenka’s mindset in the latter stages of the final was “immature” and said that the Belarusian “beat herself up.”

“I think the composure Sabalenka had for most of the match got her to 3-0 in the final set,” said the former world No 4.

“I felt that she had really taken her game to another level, but she couldn’t keep forging ahead because there was resistance down the other end.

“Then the arms started flailing and it got a little bit immature out there.

“She wasn’t handling the situation well, she was strutting around and she lost her composure completely.

“I felt that Sabalenka really beat herself up in that final set. The minute panic set in she just steamrolled in the wrong direction.”